


apology gifts

by maketea



Series: the ways you said i love you [13]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Identity Reveal, Love Letters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:54:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24068446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maketea/pseuds/maketea
Summary: chat noir finds an excuse to leave his girlfriend presents at school every day.(which also might've been an excuse to get her to figure out his identity, but whatever.)(prompt 13 = in a letter)
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: the ways you said i love you [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1667194
Comments: 74
Kudos: 802





	apology gifts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [serendiptitty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/serendiptitty/gifts).



> HAPPY BDAY CRUNCH!!!! i love you and your fantastic writing so much💞 have a lovely day and i hope u enjoy ur silly kids <3333

She was writing her journal when he knocked on her skylight.

Marinette nodded at Tikki, slid her diary under her pillow, and reached up to undo the latch. Tikki busied herself across the room. It was funny how this was the first time Chat Noir was coming over as  _ the boyfriend  _ — Ladybug's  _ and _ Marinette's, not just the former — yet she gave them privacy like it was a dance well-practiced.

"Hey," Marinette said, facing him. "You okay?"

Chat Noir nodded. "Can I come in?"

Offering a hand, she pulled him through, then fixed the latch once again.

Marinette looked down. Chat Noir had a giant box of chocolates held out for her.

"What—?" 

"It's an apology gift," he said. "Sorry for figuring out your identity."

She watched him for a moment, then sat back down. 

"You don't have to apologise. It was bound to happen at some point."

"But you said you weren't ready."

She shrugged. "Well… maybe I realised I am."

His eyes flickered over her as he processed. He had done something similar last night, after Ladybug conceded and uncrossed her arms and admitted that, yes, he was right, she was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. 

Not an ounce of love ever left his gaze. She could say that with certainty. 

Chat Noir began to drum his claws against the chocolate box. "Could I kiss you?" 

Her heart played a rhythm she hadn't felt since the very first time he asked her that. Perhaps it was because they were in her bedroom, or that she was all bare arms and bare collarbones and thin pyjama top within his reach.

Perhaps it had something to do with how naked being maskless felt. But that wasn't a bad feeling at all.

Marinette didn't give herself much time to dwell on it before she nodded, leaned back against her pillows, and opened her arms for Chat Noir to fill them.

Knees on either side of her legs, Chat Noir's hands sank into her pigtails and she rose to meet him, mouth searching for his. She couldn't help wrapping her arms around him, because she knew he would do the same, and it was suddenly the most important thing in the world for her to know how it felt for him to feel her skin.

She shivered when he ran his fingers up her arm. 

She sighed when he buried his claws into the end of her tank top.

"You should go," she whispered on his chin. "It's getting late."

Reluctantly, he let go of her. "Yeah." He pecked her one last time, then stood up.

"Wait." Marinette grabbed hold of his wrist. 

"Yeah?"

"Before you go… could you tell me who you are?"

Chat Noir smiled. "You'll figure it out eventually."

"But—"

"Maybe I'll tell you if you send me pictures of you in that tank top."

She let go of his wrist to smack him with her pillow.

.•° ✿ °•.

Marinette slung her rucksack off her shoulder and went to undo her locker.

Then she froze.

Taped beside where she put her key was a little Pusheen charm, one holding up a pink heart. 

Marinette unfolded the note tucked into the tape.

_ Sorry for asking you to send me pictures of you in your tank top. _

_ (I totally still think you should, though.) _

She glanced up from the note and at the charm, which dangled from where it was suspended.

Marinette smiled, undid the tape, and carried the charm on her thumb for the rest of the day.

(She missed the way Adrien smiled at the little Pusheen.)

.•° ✿ °•.

“Someone left me a little present at school, this morning,” Marinette said, pouring Chat Noir another cup of tea.

“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow, half-turned away from the balcony to look at her. “Do you know who it was?”

She smiled, and handed him the cup. “I think I’m looking at him.”

He clinked their cups together, took a sip, then kissed her lips.

“So, those tank top pictures…”

“Don’t make me pour my tea on you.”

.•° ✿ °•.

The next gift somehow made its way into her locker.

A little snow globe, one with the Eiffel Tower mounted to a podium, embellished with rhinestones that glittered when Marinette turned it against the light.

The note was folded up underneath it, and she wouldn’t have picked it up if she didn’t know there was one.

_ Sorry for kissing you so hard you nearly fell off the Eiffel Tower. _

_ (I would do it again, though.) _

She bit back a grin, and shut her locker. 

Marinette brought the snow globe into class with her, and glanced under her desk periodically with a secret little smile as she shook it, watching the rhinestones glitter on the beam he had kissed her on.

(Adrien was the only one who knew why she was blushing.)

.•° ✿ °•.

Marinette was earlier than usual — in other words, she was on time.

Chat Noir was a fantastic alarm clock, which was rare to find for a sleeper as heavy as her. She hadn't even noticed when he untangled himself from her arms at 11PM to go home, and thought, when she woke up at 7AM to a little kiss on her cheek, that he had slept over.

"Ooh, good morning," she mumbled, reaching for him.

"Ah-ah, no sleeping in. C'mon. Gotta get ready."

She whined and wriggled around. "Another kiss…?"

"Maybe if you sit up."

Other alarm clocks just didn't give her the incentives her boyfriend did.

And so, earlier than usual, Marinette undid her locker, took out her English book, and reached in for the usual little present tucked inside.

Her hand came back bare.

She checked again, with her fingers then her eyes, before closing her locker again and making sure she didn't miss a yellow sticky note fluttering to the floor.

Nothing.

She shrugged, hoisted the textbook up in her arms, and headed over to her first period.

Now, Marinette knew she wasn't on time  _ often _ , but that hardly warranted being welcomed by a classroom full of stares.

She stopped in the doorway, flummoxed.

The stares continued. They crawled down her, relentless.

They followed as she entered, as she headed up the aisle to her desk, as she set her rucksack down and curiously picked up the brand new tube of concealer sitting where her notebook usually was.

As she looked down at the large (she was going to kill that cat) sticky note on the table.

As she read the massive, biro-penned block capitals ( _ murder _ him), and gasped.

_ SORRY FOR THE HICKEY. HOPEFULLY THE CONCEALER WILL DO THE TRICK. _

(He had the audacity to add a  _ smiley face _ .)

Marinette smacked a hand to her throat, right where Chat Noir had nipped her when they had been kissing before bed. 

Her face burned. 

She kicked her rucksack under her desk, snatched up the concealer, and hurried to find a mirror.

(Adrien tried really,  _ really _ hard not to laugh.)

.•° ✿ °•.

"Is there a reason you're wearing a scarf in the middle of May…  _ indoors?" _

Marinette glared at him. She tightened the scarf, fixed the collar of her woolly jumper, and crossed her arms.

"You lost your neck privileges," she deadpanned.

Chat Noir burst out laughing.

.•° ✿ °•.

_ Sorry for the last note. Please give me back my neck privileges. _

_ (You know you want to.) _

Inside her locker was a necklace, one with an electric green cat paw that would sit in the hollow of her throat.

“Need any help with that?”

Marinette jumped around. 

Adrien was standing behind her.

"Oh, uh…" 

She crumpled the note in her fist. Of course, she'd straighten it out later so she could stick it in her diary (with all the other notes Chat Noir left her) but after the last incident, she wasn't sure she wanted any more attention on her neck from her classmates. Ever. 

"With the necklace," Adrien said, taking her silence for confusion. "To put it on?"

She hesitated. 

Chat Noir went to her school — that much was clear. Though the halls were almost empty, what would he think if he happened to see another boy helping Marinette with her necklace?

On the other hand, the chain was too short for her to put on herself, and she didn't want to walk into class without it — what if he thought she didn't like it?

(Besides, it was just Adrien. He was sensible.)

"Sure." She handed it to him, turned, and lifted her pigtails out of the way. "Thank you."

(Adrien thought he was being clever until he realised how hard it was not to kiss the triangle of bare skin at the apex of his girlfriend's neck.)

.•° ✿ °•.

"So… Adrien Agreste, huh?"

"Where's this conversation going?"

Chat Noir smiled, but Marinette, eyes closed, missed it. Her head was tucked under his, the duvet around their waists, and he cuddled her so close she could feel his heartbeat on her cheek — it wasn't her fault she was so sleepy.

"Oh, nowhere." He began to rub circles into her back. "You think he's cute?"

Marinette shrugged. "He's nice."

"But do you think he's cute?"

"I mean, sure? He's a great person."

"What about his face?"

"It's a normal-looking face."

"Is it your type?"

Marinette giggled into a yawn. "I think you know my type perfectly well, Chat Noir."

"Do I?" He tilted up her chin. "What's your type, My Lady?"

She said nothing. Marinette only smiled, nuzzled against his neck, and nibbled his ear.

.•° ✿ °•.

She was early —  _ really _ early, this time — but an empty locker meant a not-empty desk, and it was probably best that she saw Chat Noir's present before anyone else did.

Marinette hurried up the stairs and, to her relief, found the classroom lights off, the door still shut. She pushed it open tentatively, taking a quick glance around to make sure nobody was there.

As expected, there was something at her desk — a polythene bag with a sticky note peeking out from the inside.

She picked up the present, then unfolded the note.

_ Sorry for not being able to come over tonight. Got a last minute appointment :( I hope this makes up for it. _

_ (Don't miss me too much!) _

Marinette peeled back the polythene bag.

Inside was a plain black T-Shirt.

Her heart had no business hammering the way it did over a  _ shirt _ , but the shirt was  _ his _ .

She brought it up to her face and breathed in.

Marinette hugged it, and smiled. 

She loved him  _ so much _ .

"Marinette?"

But Adrien, who had just walked into their empty classroom, probably didn't know who she loved, or if she loved anyone at all. All he knew was his classmate was standing by her desk and smelling a shirt.

She scrambled for the polythene bag.  _ "Uh." _

"Do you need help with something—"

"Nope!" She stuffed the shirt back inside."Nope, uh, I was just… testing out this new fabric I bought! Yeah, uh, it apparently carries perfume and stuff really well."

"Oh, could I—"

_ "Nope!" _

(After spending a lesson sitting behind him, Marinette made the observation that Chat Noir and Adrien happened to wear the same cologne.)

.•° ✿ °•.

"Hey, Marinette, my pencil rolled under your chair. Could you grab it for me?"

"Sure, Adrien."

She bent over and reached between her chair legs.

The pencil was black, sharpened to a point, with a green eraser on top.

The exact same as the 'lucky pencil' Chat Noir left in her locker that day.

Marinette picked it up. "H-here you go."

(Unless she was reading too much into it, Adrien's eyes seemed to linger on her hand.)

.•° ✿ °•.

"I changed my mind," Marinette said, drawing circles on Chat Noir's chest.

He gasped. "You're leaving me?"

She poked his stomach. "Shut up."

"Pfft, okay, I'll be serious. What did you change your mind about?"

Marinette smiled, and moved her head to lay against the pillows to watch his reaction. "I think Adrien Agreste has a cute face."

He raised his eyebrows below the mask. "Oh?"

"Mhm." Taking her fingers off his chest, Marinette caressed him. "Nice jawline…" She traced Chat Noir's, all the way down to his chin. "Pretty lips…" And, with a single glance, locked their gazes. "Beautiful eyes."

Chat Noir chuckled. "When you talk like that I can't help but think you're  _ really  _ gonna leave me."

She said nothing. A beat passed while she watched him some more, before returning her head back to his collarbone.

"You shouldn't think that," she said, and closed her eyes. "You're everything I want, already."

.•° ✿ °•.

One note, no present, tucked into her locker.

_ Sorry for not telling you my identity sooner. _

_ (I love you to pieces, My Lady.) _

She closed the door, and there was Adrien, a bouquet of flowers in his arms.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "They wouldn't fit in your locker."


End file.
